© Olivier Fitoussi/ Flash90Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef speaks during a ceremony in Jerusalem on September 22, 2022.
Speaking on 9 March, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef declared that Haredi (ultra-orthodox) religious students must not be drafted "under any circumstances, no matter what" and that if they are forcibly enlisted, the Haredim would "go abroad."
"Without the Torah, without the kollels, without the yeshivas, the army will have no success," he declared.
Service in the Israeli army is mandatory for young Israeli men and women, with certain exceptions, including for those studying the Torah in religious schools known as Yeshivas.
Men from Israel's Haredi community can avoid being drafted by renewing the year-long exemption until they pass the age of mandatory military service. Many men remain registered as Yeshiva students long past the time of their studies to continue to receive the exemption.
Hundreds of Haredi men blocked a major north-south highway on 3 March to protest growing calls for an end to blanket draft exemptions.
Some held signs reading, "We tell the High Court - we'll go to jail over the army" and "We will die and not enlist."
Since the beginning of the war on Gaza on 7 October, anger has grown among segments of Israeli society who accuse the Haredim of not doing their part to support the war effort, calling them "parasites." The Haredim refuse to fight and die for the state while at the same time receiving state subsidies to fund their studies.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi have both recently stated that the military needs additional manpower to continue the war in Gaza and in the north against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Gallant stated, "We need manpower now — it's math, not politics."
While killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and pulverizing Gaza, the Israeli military has also suffered painful losses at the hands of the Hamas-led Palestinian resistance in Gaza. It has mobilized almost 300,000 reservists and extended the length of service for existing soldiers.
Last week, members of the Knesset voted 61-36 to reject a universal military conscription bill proposed by Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman. The legislation would have required all 18-year-olds to enlist in the army, perform national service, or face legal sanctions.
On the day of the vote, Deputy Knesset Speaker Moshe Roth, a member of the Haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, threatened if even "one real yeshiva student has to close his Talmud, there is no government."
The UTJ is part of Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition.
"There is a surplus of manpower. The only difference before October 7 and after October 7 was the percentage of how many soldiers were in combat," Roth claimed.
Comment: Maybe the extras that are predicted to be needed are not only to replace the rising losses in Gaza, but are also for the intended expansion of the greater Israel project?
"If you see that the army is bringing in people from Army Radio or education programs or from the army bands, that would be an indication that there is more need for manpower on the front or in combat units. But that's not the case," Roth added.
On Saturday, the army announced the death of an officer killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, bringing the official number of soldiers killed in the ground offensive to 248. The number is believed to be much higher, however, as Israel has been known to refuse to publish the names of killed soldiers.
The officer killed is Maj. (res.) Amishar Ben David, 43, from the West Bank settlement of Eli and a cousin of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Comment: For such an allegedly patriotic and eschatologically enthusiastic people, Israeli officials, citizens, and settlers, have been rather quick to abandon ship: